The Mushroom War - Circa, 1987

“No fair! You cheated!” My friend shouts at me while holding the ball. We were able to get more recess time than the 5^th graders. Others at the playground were running around like kids, but me, I was battling this girl in an all-out match of….and that’s when it happened. The buzzing in the air – large metallic beasts started to cover the sky. Tractors ran over the fences in the playground while shooting up at them. Everyone around me screamed and started running away. “Wait!” I called out to my friend who already disappeared with everyone else including the teachers. Loud sirens were heard through the streets. “Daddy?” I remembered calling out under my breath in absolute horror. He was never there anyway, always on his business trips. “Marcy!” My name was shouted from one of the bunkers that the men in the white coats built for us in our school. They came to our school several times and told us about how someday the metallic beasts would come. “Marcy come on!” I ran to them, but was not fast enough. Loud whistling was above me getting closer and closer and then nothing. I was saved by one of them. The white coats.

I woke up on a hill side and saw everything from a distance. The tractors that shot at other tractors, the metal balloons that burst into hot lava fire and knocked over the buildings in the city. Those men in the white coats gathered in groups with the army men, like the one that saved me. He told me he was a wizard sent to preserve the future – whatever that meant. I was the only one there, or at least it felt that way. I was lost. Where was my dad? I look over to see more loud fireworks in the sky. And then bright lights of sky blue flashing against the fire coming from certain people on rooftops. And then that awful explosion, it was so bright that at first everything froze in white light. That’s when I was knocked down and everything blew up. I remembered feeling the burns and cuts as I was covering my ears and shouting against the noise while curled up. There was nothing I could do. I was only seven years old. The thunder was so loud and it hurt to open my eyes. I had to find my dad. The only place where he might be was at the diner where they made my favorite fries. Maybe that’s where he was at. He was probably there waiting for me. I remembered going out there to find him.

Now, it’s been over a thousand years since that day. Had I not seen the photo of one of the wizards in the white coats, I might’ve not remembered it at all. I now live amidst the immortals even if I'm a half vampire. With silent tears, I place the photo carefully back into the ammo crate that was dug up by my friend and his dog. I reach over to hug them both. “That was a very long time ago, thank you for finding this.” I say to them as I float back to my house. This gives me an idea for a new song.